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We take our endorsements seriously, but the governor knows why we withdrew and he left us with no alternative.

Michael S. Steele, Republican National Committee chairman, is using his title to market himself for paid appearances nationwide, personally profiting from speeches with fees of up to $20,000 at colleges, trade associations and other groups - an unusual practice criticized by a string of past party chairmen.

Mr. Steele, elected in January to the $223,500-a-year RNC post, is working with at least four outside agencies in Washington, New York, Boston and Nashville that book the speaking engagements. He charges between $8,000 and $20,000 for an address, plus first-class travel and lodging expenses.

..."Holy mackerel, I never heard of a chairman of either party ever taking money for speeches," said Frank J. Fahrenkopf Jr., RNC chairman under President Reagan and CEO of the American Gaming Association.

"The job of a national chairman is to give speeches. That's what the national party pays him for. We didn't have a rule book back then, but being national chairman was and is a full-time job," Mr. Fahrenkopf said.

Harkin dismissed deals dubbed vote-buying by GOP senators as "small stuff" that distracted Americans from the primary focus of the overhaul bill.

"We have to keep our eyes on what we're trying to do here. We're trying to cross a demarcation line." ... "On one side is health care as a privilege, on the other side is health care as a right. With these votes, with the vote that we'll take before Christmas, we will cross that line finally and say that health care is a right of all Americans."

Griffith, who captured the seat in a close 2008 open seat contest, will become the first Republican to hold the historically Democratic, Huntsville-based district. A radiation oncologist who founded a cancer treatment center, Griffith plans to blast the Democratic health care bill as a prime reason for his decision to switch parties—and is expected to cite his medical background as his authority on the subject.

While the timing of his announcement was unexpected, Griffith’s party switch will not come as a surprise to those familiar with his voting record, which is one of the most conservative among all Democrats.

He has bucked Democratic leadership on nearly all of its major domestic initiatives, including the stimulus package, health care legislation, the cap-and trade energy bill and financial regulatory reform.

As President Barack Obama's numbers on health care have declined so has his margin over Republicans on whom American voters trust most on the issue... In July he enjoyed a 20-point edge on the trust question, and that margin has been narrowing, to 45 - 40 percent today.

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani has ruled out a run for the Senate in 2010, NewsCore has learned.

The seat is currently held by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), who was appointed by New York Gov. David Paterson when former Sen. Hillary Clinton joined the Obama administration as secretary of state.

One source close to the former mayor says that instead of running for office, he will be pursuing other business opportunities in the private sector, noting that after his 2008 Presidential run the Mayor still has the status within the party and the platform from which "to engage on national issues that are important to him.’

Giuliani is also expected to announce his intention to revive his Solutions America PAC as a vehicle to promote Republican party candidates in 2010, the source said.

The second big vote to end debate on the health care takeover bill will occur around 7 a.m. on Tuesday morning. 

If Reid and Obama hold all 60 of their votes, then there will be one more cloture vote (to end debate) Wednesday evening and a final vote on passage of the bill sometime on Thursday. 

After that, the House and Senate would have to hold a conference to work through the considerable differences in the House and Senate versions of the legislation. 

Then, the health care takeover would have to pass both chambers again.  That final battle would most likely take place in early January.

Update: Oh boy.  I'm hearing tonight that the Dems have also slipped in a Senate rule change to require a supermajority vote to repeal Obamacare once its passed...  Apparently the Senate parliamentarian ruled that it was a change in Senate "procedure," not rules, and allowed it.

From a preliminary analysis of Majority Leader Reid’s manager’s amendment, it is clear that it is unacceptable and would be a radical departure from existing law and policy.

First, the amendment provides inadequate conscience protection, because it does not prohibit any government entity or program (federal, state, or local) from discriminating against health care providers that do not want to participate in abortions.

Second, the amendment fails to address our concerns that under the Mikulski amendment (already accepted in the underlying bill), the Health Resources and services Administration (HRSA) has the power to require private insurance plans to include abortion coverage under the guise of “preventive care.”

Third, the amendment allows insurance plans that cover abortions to receive government subsidies, which is a radical departure from existing law (which is not allowed under the Hyde Amendment and the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program).

Fourth, while the amendment allows states to “opt-out” of allowing private plans that include abortion coverage to participate in their exchanges, this “opt-out” provision makes abortion coverage normative.  In other words, states will have to act to prevent subsidies from going to plans that cover abortions in their state, turning on its head the traditional federal approach to abortion.

Fifth, the amendment fails to ensure federal funds will not go to assisted suicide.

Boy, this “Obama Derangement Syndrome” really has gotten out of hand. Why, just this past week the decreasingly popular president has been called a “bald-faced liar,” “an executive who can’t bring himself to lead,” and even an “Uncle Tom.”

And that’s just by liberals.

The progressive crack-up, before Obama even reaches the end of his first year, has been an awesome and occasionally humorous sight to see. Undead ’60s warhorse Tom Hayden got the ball rolling in early December with his dramatic announcement in The Nation that, with the president’s decision to increase troop levels, “It’s time to strip the Obama sticker off my car."

The Senate health care bill is an ungodly mess of errors, loopholes, and massive giveaways. When the American people find out what's actually in this bill, they will revolt.